How the airlines turned cost-cutting into a sport

I rarely fly anywhere, but every time I do I hate having to go into alert mode because of all of the hidden costs and traps of the ticket I might end up with, and it turns out there's a long history of cost cutting with airlines...

"It all started with the olives."

It's a kind of a joke, but in the airline industry, it's where a long and subtle reduction of passenger comfort starts.

American Airlines CEO Robert Crandall made headlines for reducing costs by 40,000 dollars in 1987 by cutting out olives from salads served before flights. That tiny change triggered a huge transformation — one in which airlines began cutting corners on economy travel back to the bare essentials, stringing along profit at the expense of pride.

Then came peanuts and crackers, followed by newspapers. Shorter seat pitch and width later. Headrests vanished. Toilets shrunk. Legroom as an amenity, not a right. The "scramble for savings" has subsequently shifted away from abolishing snacks to redefining the very way human beings are allowed to sit — or stand — on planes. In a race to the bottom, every pound and inch counted...

And recent moves by the EU point to this trend accelerating rather than slowing. Transport ministers have committed to increasing the delay threshold for passenger compensation to possibly six hours from three hours and even to allowing the airlines to charge extra for checked luggage.

From Economy to "Torture Rack": Is There Any Limit?

When does it not pay to fly for the mass traveler? The revival of the "Skyrider" — a standing, near-vertical plane seat that amounts to little more than a padded bicycle saddle — suggests we have yet to hit rock bottom. Originally written off as an April Fool's joke, this idea is now under serious consideration as a way to pack more bodies into each cabin. It's a simple premise: the more bodies you pack in, the more tickets sold.

But at what cost? Physically, mentally, and ethically, the path of the industry is disconcerting. When does efficiency turn into abuse? When do cost savings turn into cruelty? That we're even debating having passengers endure flights for a few hours with knees jammed into their chest says a great deal about how far we've been conditioned by the industry to accept inconvenience.

The reality is that economy flying has become a subspecies of endurance sport — a test of endurance to see how long you can hang on without food, comfort, or space for your legs. And the tragedy? People have come to expect it. The abuse has become so well institutionalized that most people assume economy class will always be awful.

Flying Forward: Time for a Rethink?

There has to be a middle path. One where airlines stay profitable without carrying people like cargo. Maybe regulators, and not airlines, need to set the boundaries now. Minimum seat sizes, reasonable compensation regulations, and minimal amenities shouldn't be thought of as indulgences, but as fundamentals in the 21st century...?